Now, I’m intrigued and eager to learn more about it. My creative and enlightened daughter, Jade, who studies professionally about diversity in all cultural forms (race, gender, sexual orientation, psychology, and neurology) educated me about this progressive concept and reformist movement. She inspired me so much, and I’m thrilled to mention that we’re currently collaborating on a children’s book project with the theme of Neurodiversity. Because we believe it’s important to be authentic in our representation in the book, we are both Neurodivergents.

The Neurodiversity Paradigm is the perspective that everyone has different neurocognitive functioning. There is no “normal” way to think, process, feel, behave, or communicate because everyone’s brain is different and each person uses their brain in different ways to do these things.

Don’t you find that there are systems and expectations set up in our culture that restricts and places a stigma on people who have mental health conditions and neurological differences? Anyone on the autism spectrum, who has depression, and/or anxiety, and other conditions that affect the brain are viewed in mainstream culture as “abnormal” or diseased.

The Neurodiversity Paradigm is an outlook on human neurology that understands neurological conditions as differences rather than disorders.

Now, when I first heard about this, I was perplexed. I wondered why had it taken so long for this new way of looking at neurological differences to emerge in our culture? Why had I (who has been diagnosed with Depression, Anxiety, and ADHD) not taken this outlook towards myself until recently?

I’m feeling motivated to want to find out as much scientific research on Neurodiversity as I can. Based on that research and what I already know about it, I want to hopefully spread some awareness. First, we need to go back to when it all began…

Former scientific and disease (deficit) model theories about autism were being challenged and attitudes in our culture started to change about autism and autistic people as documented in Wired Magazine and the New York Times.

It should be cited here that a decade before the movement was just starting to emerge, a clinical research paper about autism and vaccines was published in a respected British medical journal called The Lancet.

The paper stated that the so-called MMR vaccine (a combined vaccine that prevents measles, mumps and rubella) also caused autism in young children.

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The paper was later retracted and new scientific evidence proved the paper to be wrong.

Neurodiversity terminology seeks to define former stigmatizing labels that misrepresent and limit people, and instead uses terms that empower them and respectfully and correctly identify who they are. Please visit neurocosmopolitanism.com for a full glossary of terms.

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Currently, for many Neurodivergents and Neurotypical Allies, The Neurodiversity Paradigm is not only a concept and movement, but a biological fact.

Personally, I feel proud and honored to be part of this.

As for society, we need to learn, respect, accept, and talk about one another’s mental health. We need to get rid of misrepresenting language and cultural systems that demean people and don’t even work for some of us.

Finally, we need to embrace the uniqueness of each of our own neurological differences and come to terms with neurodiversity.

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Tracy Bryan writes whimsical books for kids ages 4-12. She likes to tackle important and diverse topics that affect kids and their families.

Stay tuned for Tracy and Jade Bryan's new picture book called Spectrum

(All sales and proceeds from Spectrum will be used for the creation and publishing of the book and the remainder will be donated to a creative organization that advocates Neurodiversity, Neurodivergent Artists and Creatives and that offers support and impacts the lives of fellow Neurodivergents!)